Mental Health Recovery Coach Team – NHS CPFT

What is the Recovery Coach Team?

The service offers coaching and peer support worker sessions to help you identify what you may need to do and what support you may need to access to make this transition as successful as possible:

• Coaching by Recovery Coaches who  have been trained in coaching methods to empower you to take control of your recovery journey by helping you to establish your own goals.
• Support from Peer Support Workers who are individuals with lived experience of challenges around mental health and trained to support you to achieve the goals you identify.

Who is this service for?

Discharge from secondary mental health services can be considered a significant achievement and outcome. However, you may find the transition from high levels of support to reduced levels challenging. You might be interested in getting support from voluntary organisations or community groups, but might be unsure how you go about that. You may find additional support can be helpful to manage this transition. The service aims to offer coaching and peer support worker sessions to help you identify what you need to do and what support you would benefit from to make this transition as successful as possible.

What is ‘recovery’?

Traditionally, the concept of recovery in mental health has been judged primarily on the absence of psychiatric symptoms and a reduction in the number or frequency of hospital admissions. Discharge from secondary mental health services is an important milestone in your recovery journey. Recovery is about living a satisfying and fulfilling life. It is also a unique experience which means that different people will need different types of support. You will be encouraged to take control of your own recovery by making your own choices which of course might include some ups and downs during the recovery process.

Find out more about Peer Support Specialist and Recovery here.

How can coaching help me?

• Coaching can empower you to move towards your desired goals.
• Coaching can help you to bring about discovery, change and action.
• The coaching relationship is a mutual collaboration based on trust, openness and understanding.
• Coaching involves working together to see opportunities, raise self-awareness and unlock inner potential.
• Coaching can support you to move at the pace that feels right for you.
• Coaching can help you develop skills to positively manage stressors in life.

What do the Recovery Coach Team offer?

Recovery Coaches aim to start supporting you at a time when you are working towards transition from secondary mental health services, back to the care of your GP. They will ensure that coaching is the right approach by having a conversation with you about what being coached means, what you can expect from them, and what they expect from you. Together, you can decide if this service is the right one for you.

If you mutually decide to proceed, they will offer you one-to-one coaching and/or peer support work sessions. The amount of time and the number of sessions you need will depend on the goals you identify. This will be short-term, focused work and they would expect to work with most people for about 6 – 8 weeks. You may also still be working with your care coordinator and any other services involved in your care.

Where appropriate the recovery coaches may work with you while you access organisations that can support you in the community. They may also help you identify activities which can increase your confidence and self-esteem such as volunteering, paid work, educational and creative activities.

This service is free provided by the NHS, however referral criteria must be met (referral criteria below).